Social Action & Science

Being With DyingThis Professional Training Program for Clinicians in Compassionate Care of the Seriously Ill and Dying is fostering a revolution in care of the dying and seriously ill. Clinicians learn essential tools for taking care of dying people with skill and compassion.

ChaplaincyA visionary and comprehensive two-year program for a new kind of chaplaincy to serve individuals, communities, the environment, and the world.

ZAZENKAI WEEKEND (April 5 - 7)

This special package for Zazenkai includes dorm housing Friday and Saturday nights and all meals starting with dinner Friday evening through breakfast Sunday.

We encourage attending the Friday evening 7:45pm orientation which will include zen meditation instruction and protocol of the zendo. This will prepare you to experience a fuller weekend. Additionally, on Sunday, we offer a question and answer seminar at 9:00am.

A daylong silent meditation retreat provides us with the experience of deep periods of uninterrupted meditation. We do sitting and walking meditation throughout the day, one hour of work practice, three informal meals and dharma talk by the teacher in the afternoon. Private Interview with the teacher will be available. Meditation instruction is available for those new to practice.

This daylong meditation retreat is an opportunity to become familiar with zen-meditation and zen-forms. It will give you also a taste of a sesshin (week-long intensive meditation).

If you are unsure of what to do while you are in the zendo, please watch and follow along. There also will be two residents by the front door who can help you to a seat. It may seem intimidating, but it is alright to make mistakes as you learn our form. The form of the zendo invites us into the practice of mindfulness which is essentially beyond "correct" and "incorrect". We invite you to relax, enjoy, and let the mind of "doing it right" drop away. We are happy to provide a chair if you think you would like one. Plesae let the registrar know at the time of your registration if you would like a chair. If you have further questions, or would like to join us for meditation instruction, please call the Upaya office at 505-986-8518, or email temple@upaya.org.

More about the instructors:

Do-On Robert Thomas is a Zen Buddhist priest in the lineage of Rev. Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, author of the modern spiritual classic Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, and founder of the first Soto Zen Buddhist monastery outside of Asia, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center.

Robert's dharma name, given to him when he was ordained as a priest in 2000, is Shi-Zan Do-On (Lion Mountain, Path of Kindness). He has been practicing Zen Buddhism since 1993, and in 2008 he received "Dharma Transmission" from his teacher, Zoketsu Norman Fischer. From 1994 to 2000 he trained intensively as a Zen monk at Tassajara, practicing intimately with many Zen teachers (including Tenshin Reb Anderson, Zenkei Blanche Hartman, Shisan Edward Brown, Sojun Mel Weitsman, Ryushin Paul Haller and others).

He was ordained as a Zen priest in 2000 by Zoketsu Norman Fischer, and has enjoyed studying and practicing with a number of Tibetan and Theravadan Buddhist teachers.

Today, Robert leads Zen retreats and workshops, and gives public lectures throughout the year. The expression of his Buddhist practice in his teachings has been focused on helping people from all walks of life to realize the practical benefits of Zen practice and meditation (zazen), and extend the Zen mind, with its qualities of openness, clarity, and flexibility, into every moment of their life.

For many years Robert has been in a leadership role serving the San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC) sangha, one of the largest Buddhist communities outside of Asia, and since 2005 he has been the President and CEO, overseeing the administration of all three SFZC practice centers (Tassajara, Green Gulch Farm, and City Center), as well as guiding its mission of bringing the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha to the world.

Since 1993, Robert has traveled extensively in Asia, most often with his wife, Samantha Ostergaard, studying and practicing in the Theravadan and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, and at monasteries and practice centers in Thailand, India, Nepal, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia.

Robert's university training is in fine art and filmmaking, and he has had a career as a film/video director, a magazine editor/creative director, and a small business owner. He continues to draw as often as he can and enjoys watching movies. He loves to hike and run regularly, and also takes great pleasure in cooking and reading.